Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Luke Sparke, Umbrella Entertainment.
Written and directed by Luke Sparke, this is a 2020 Australian science fiction film, a sequel to the 2018 film Occupation. It continues the story of alien conquerors invading heartland Australia with remarkable skill and compelling energy.
An ambitious space invention, packed with impressive special effects and exciting action sequences, Occupation: Rainfall unfolds two years into an intergalactic invasion of earth, as survivors fight back in a desperate ground war. While casualties mount by the day, the resistance – along with some unexpected allies – uncover a plot that could bring the war to a decisive end. With the alien invaders hell-bent on making our planet their new home, the race is on to save mankind.
Its main storyline follows Matt Simmons (Dan Ewing, Love and Monsters, Occupation) and alien Gary (Lawrence Makoare is best known for his roles in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies) as they travel from Sydney to Alice Springs to find out about ‘Rainfall’, an alien super weapon sent to earth. Peter Bartlett (Temuera Morrison, Aquaman, Once Were Warriors), who presides over a rural community established in the first film, is picked up on the way there.
For the moment, Wing Commander Hayes (Daniel Gillies, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2) oversees a giant underground resistance compound, performing secret evil experiments on captured aliens in order to develop a weapon that will win the war. Taking up her own war against Hayes is the righteous Amelia Chambers (Jet Tranter, Insomnia City, Thor: Ragnarok). She is risking life and limb to meet with other alien defector groups, in the hopes of negotiating a peaceful relation with the ‘Greys’ and an end to the war.
It’s in the internal tensions within the resistance that the epic existential war between aliens and humans is mirrored. Sydney is under siege from an advanced alien horde, and it’s a troubling reminder of the Black Summer nightmare. Released on Blu-ray, it may not be unique, but it does reveal that a fortified base of operations can bolster resistance fighters.
Who plays the character of Amelia Chambers in Occupation: Rainfall? If your answer is correct, then you could win one Blu-ray copy of Occupation: Rainfall. Entries should be sent to [email protected] by Monday, 5 July 2021. Names of the winners will be announced in Frank Cassidy’s PS-sssst…! column on 6 July 2021.
